Home
by Crosslit.Heavens
Summary: Dragged through a portal and into another dimension, a young woman finds that her blood possesses amazing potential - but at a price. When she saves the life of a crimson-eyed Old Blood, she binds herself to him forever. Working past hatred, jealousy, and dark pasts, everyone might just learn the meaning of "Home"...but her connection to the Kowloon King could destroy it. Slight AU


**~ Home ~  
**

**By: Crosslit . Heavens  
**

_Chapter One: World Jumping_

It was the biggest scientific discovery of the century – a portal to another world, an instance in space and time where possibilities reigned, and the idea of consequence didn't wish to be acknowledged. It was all Frank, my sister-in-law's father, who was working on the "World Jumping" project, could seem to talk about – not that I complained, because I found it fascinating, as did Marcelle, thrilled with the idea of an alternate world.

The hole in the fabric of reality had been open for just over a month now, the center of experimentation and speculation from nearly the beginning. It loomed in the middle of a small town in Japan, where I was visiting, Frank having been called there some months prior to the incident to participate in a multi-country scientific endeavor (information had not been released to the public, concerning exactly what this endeavor was, but after the appearance of the vortex-like portal, there had been much speculation as to whether or not the scientists' work was the cause). No one knew exactly what lay on the other side of the portal, or whether or not we could safely transport human beings, though plenty of objects had been sent through the glowing mass – and consequently, plenty of objects had entered our reality from the other side; we were obviously not the only ones trying to figure out where the portal lead, which meant there was intelligent life on the other side. Many electronic instruments had been sent out, but none of the instruments worked once they disappeared into the vortex, and none of the instruments from the other world seemed to transmit feed, either, making communication thus far impossible.

Talk had been made of actually sending a human through, to see if they would come back, could make contact with whoever was on the other side – for of course if the people on our side were afraid to send a living being through, whoever lived in our sister dimension was probably fearful of the same, so someone would have to break down and take the leap before progress could be made – but no one had been picked out as of yet, and time was quickly running out—

Eventually, the portal would close completely (it grew smaller day by day, and no one was sure when it would close exactly, though the estimate was five days; there was talk of whether or not the energy needed to send someone to and from the alternate space would weaken the portal enough that it would close before they could return, but the scientists simply didn't have enough information to be sure); if humanity waited, we would lose our first chance to contact an alternate universe. It seemed a shame that no one had stepped forward as of yet to journey into the portal, though I understood why; it was an exciting idea, but a terrifying reality.

"What do you think it's like in that other world? Do you think it's similar to ours, or completely different? I guess if it's parallel, there have to be some similarities, right?" I asked Marcelle, my voice quiet yet contemplative as we stared at the circular vortex, feeling sadness as I remembered what day it was, and trying to cover up my gloom with questions.

It pained me to remember, but at least once a year, it was impossible not to.

Every August the 25th, I remembered Before – before my parents died in the car wreckage, father bleeding out as he stared at his dead wife, shrapnel embedded in his body, cutting off feeling at least; before my brother died in a separate accident on the same day, causing Marcelle and I to grow closer, though the death had nearly killed us both from grief, as we'd lost a husband and a best friend both – and if I knew anything, it was that time could not be reversed. Maybe that was why I sympathized with the scientists who were hesitant to send someone through the portal lingering off in front of us, despite the media and governments' instance, because if their fears were correct, and that portal closed, they could never go back and undo their decision (a portal to another dimension had appeared, but we still didn't know how to travel through time – and I felt that, ultimately, we might not want to).

I turned my gaze from the portal to look at Marcelle, who smiled despite the date, obviously appreciating my questions, though I knew from the look in her eyes that she had not forgotten.

It was good for both of us to have a distraction.

"I'm not certain," she told me. "I imagine whatever world is on the other side of this portal, it's quite different; many theories exist regarding alternate universes, and how different or similar they might be, but I've always liked to think that there are large differences, instead of minute ones, to make things more interesting. I've always liked to think that alternate worlds were like fiction, new worlds where people don't have doubles, but completely separate individuals exist. It might even be a better place than this," she said, a brighter sign of sadness making its appearance at last as she looked down at the ground, her voice lowering.

I wanted to respond, but couldn't – because I felt the same way.

Whatever was on the other side of that portal, it was different, new – and most importantly, whatever was on the other side of that portal, well...in that world my parents weren't dead, and my brother wasn't outside of my grasp forevermore, if Marcelle was right, and the universe at the other end of the wormhole wasn't a basic reflection of ours. Thinking this, part of me ached to jump into the void, to leave my own world behind, but I knew that would be nothing more than running away from my problems, and I wasn't a coward.

I couldn't solve my problems by running away, and I couldn't go back – oh, life was a conundrum.

"I wouldn't blame you, you know, if you were to jump in, and leave everything behind. You would be braver than me, if you did; I can't seem to let go, no matter how hard I try," Marcelle told me quietly then, reading my mind, as she often did, and in that moment I loved her more than ever, though I didn't plan on doing anything of the sort; it was nothing more than a passing thought.

No matter what happened, as long as I had Marcelle, I felt that everything would be alright, and I didn't need to escape my woes, even if they sometimes felt too heavy. I wouldn't know what to do without her, and I didn't ever want to be put in a position where I would have to find out.

My thoughts, and that fragile moment, were interrupted abruptly by a loud beeping sound, as the portal before us suddenly began to change color, something inside of it shifting, as if it were losing its shape, becoming unstable, becoming more an oval than a circle.

"Sir, there's – there's something coming through!" one of the men near us shouted, pointing to his computer monitor, the source of the frantic beeping; colors were filtering across the screen, and the panic in his voice was evident.

I was not a scientist by any means, but the change in the portal, and the colors flashing across that screen, made my blood run cold; it was as if the bright colors were an omen, far from cheery though they were vibrant.

"Marcelle, Aednat, get somewhere safe. We need to work without distractions, and we're not entirely sure what's going to come through," Frank shot orders our way, leaning over the other man at the computer, cursing beneath his breath as he saw what was happening. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you here," he sounded as though he were cursing himself when those words left his mouth, obviously feeling responsible for our safety.

I nodded, taking Marcelle's hand, though I sent a smile his way before we turned to leave hastily. He had been so excited to show us his work, and, from what they could monitor of the portal, there had been no danger up until now, so I couldn't really blame him; it was odd how, despite the technology we had, there were still surprises.

Everything from that point forward happened so quickly, later I would feel nearly dizzy recalling it, trying to piece together different scenarios, things I could have done to prevent what occurred; I sadly could find none that didn't involve not going to the site of the portal in the first place. The feeling of fear that had assaulted me upon seeing the wormhole's distortion, increased tenfold as my blood ran cold, I tugged on Marcelle's arm in panic as I turned my head to tell her to hurry, and—

A figure appeared from the portal, haunted and wraith-like, their eyes downcast and their hair falling into their face so you could not see their expression, though everyone shivered at their appearance, and the immediate feeling of hostility and danger they gave off.

The figure moved quickly, so fast they were hard to keep track of—

Screams were heard as scientists and technicians fell to the ground, blood splattering—

I froze, a fatal mistake, and almost immediately my gaze met that of the terrifying figure as he finally stopped moving, standing there with an air of humor, though guards were being called in, long fangs poking through his grin – too long, unsightly, abnormal. Marcelle followed my gaze, and frozen in shock, as well, under the creature's spell.

"A...vampire?" she questioned in disbelief as the portal site erupted into chaos, and the grinning man mouthed something to me, voice too soft to be heard from where we were standing, as his eyes narrowed in glee.

"_Found you." _

My mind supplied the words – I always had been good at lip reading, perfected from years in musical theatre in middle school – and immediately I knew: this creature was here for me, and he would go through everyone and anyone he had to in order to get to me.

A memory screamed to be recalled as my eyes widened, and I fought the urge to scream; it was as if I had seen this creature before, or...something similar to it. It wasn't a vampire – not really – I knew that much, at least, though I didn't know how.

The creature leapt towards me then, and in the few seconds I had before it reached me, I reacted on instinct, adrenaline pumping. I pushed Marcelle away before it could harm her, hearing her scream my name, and then suddenly I was in the clutches of the monster, and we were heading towards the large, unstable portal, and there was no escape.

"Aednat!" my cousin screamed again; her voice was the last voice I heard from my dimension.

We disappeared into the void, the creature and I, leaving my world behind.

Time passed, melting, dimensions passed, and I felt as if I were being ripped apart, sewn back together, screaming...before abruptly our trip ended, and I was thrown to the harsh ground, what felt like pavement, rolling multiple times before I landed on my back, staring up at the gloomy sky above, a light drizzle hitting my face, every bone in my body aching, breathing painful and erratic.

My first thought was that at least my sister-in-law and Frank were safe – and my second was that I was probably going to die.

_Fine. _I thought as I rolled onto my side, and then onto my hands, hissing in pain before attempting to stand, my whole body shaking, scrapes that I had earned upon entry into this world beginning to bleed (definitely not a good sign). I waited for the creature that had brought me here to attack – or to do whatever else it might do; I only hoped my death was swift.

It didn't occur to me then that the monster might have wanted me for some specific reason. I was too shaken to even consider the option, too convinced that the creature who had killed so easily upon appearing must have wanted to play some sadistic, taunting game before he did me in, too, drawing me away from my home in order to terrify me; maybe he wanted to see me cry, and maybe he wanted to see me scream.

I heard the monster chuckle as I raised my head to look at it, still trying to gather the strength to stand, to run, to try and get back to the portal – and then I noticed that the portal was nowhere in sight, and my heart nearly stopped.

"You can't run from your fate," the monster told me, looking down at me, standing proudly, though there lingered an air of instability about him, as if there were barely anything holding him back from slipping off the edge and into insanity. His dark eyes were like none I had ever seen before, his features foreign, and yet I couldn't shake that feeling of familiarity.

Somehow, I knew he was going to say his next words before he did, but that didn't make them any less horrifying; foreknowledge didn't make my heart bleed any less as he grinned once more, and uttered: "Your home is barred from you now," laughing, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to kill him, anger and sorrow a potent mix of emotions.

As if my despair-induced rage had called it, the monster who had brought me through the portal suddenly erupted into crimson flames, screaming in agony and burning before my very eyes as I watched on in horror. Who could say how long it took him to be reduced to nothing but ash, but time appeared to halt as I stared with wide eyes, barely breathing, suddenly feeling ashamed of my wish to cause him harm, no matter what he might have done to me.

As the creature's final scream died down, ash drifting through the air, I realized that it was not my anger and despair that had caused the man's seemingly spontaneous combustion, but the figure who had crept up, unseen and unheard, behind him, appearing terribly bored with the situation, though there was a crease in his brow that subtly made note of his rage.

My green eyes met a sea of red, infinitely deep and unsettling, before the world darkened, and I fell into a blackened sleep.

* * *

**_Hello, everyone, and thank you for reading! Also, welcome to the story. _**

**_I've been toying with the idea of writing this story for a while now, and finally decided to give it a shot. There aren't too many fanfics for this fandom, but I really loved the anime, so I wanted to make my contribution. I'll say up front that I've only watched the anime, and haven't read the novels, since I don't read or speak Japanese, so I'm going to have to fill in the blanks in back story, etc., with my own ideas. So, it will be a small bit AU, probably.  
_**

**_For fans of my other fics, don't worry, I'm still working on them, I just wanted to give this story a try finally. If enough people like it, I'll continue writing, and if not, well...at least I tried! So please, review and let me know what you think! _**

**_Notes on the chapter: _**

**_The title, "Home": the title of this story is given after the song "Home" from the Broadway musical version of "Beauty and the Beast". It's not a fairy-tale retelling exactly, but it has a lot of elements similar to the story. If you'd like to hear the original song, there's a link on my profile to a Youtube video of it. _**

**_Our heroine's name, "Aednat": as you'll see later on, Aednat's family was (mostly) from Ireland. When looking up Irish names, I came across "Aednat" pretty quickly (pronounced ey-nit, from the page I found; it's the feminine of "Aiden"), and I really liked it. Turns out the name means "little fire", which is in multiple ways amusing. _**

**_Again, thanks for reading, and please review to let me know what you think. Also, please stop by my website, located on my profile, to read some of my original fiction, if you like. Until next time! :)_**

**_~Cross_**


End file.
